It is never good whenever your cattle are suffering from a disease. It can rob you of performance while at the same time increasing your expenses.
Many health problems that occur can be handled if they are detected early. If detected in time they can be prevented or even minimize losses. You can then take steps to keep it from spreading or coming back. One main thing to remember is to always consult your veterinarian if you believe a health problem has occurred.
Though sickness can occur any time of the year here are 4 of them that tend to happen during summer. I’ve included some signs to look for as well as steps you can take to minimize its effects.
Breeding season preparations are a very important task for any cow/calf producer’s bottom line. The steps that they take now will determine if they will have a good calf crop or not. Having good quality calves to sell is the defining factor between a successful and a not successful rancher.
Drought is one of those things that every cattle producer will have to deal with at some point. It ranks right up there with Death and Taxes. Just like those two though it is unavoidable however it is also something that most producers find themselves unprepared for.
Cedar, more accurately known as juniper, can be a very difficult plant to control. It is a very aggressive woody plant that grows here in Texas as well as in other places. It is often viewed as invasive because if left unchecked it can quickly take over a pasture choking out any grass growth.
Using a mineral supplement is one of the most important yet overlooked parts of cattle management. Sure, we all are concerned with the amount of protein or energy they are getting but what about meeting their mineral needs?
Using a hay bale to supplement your cattle is a tried and true method that many producers use. It is reasonably priced compared to other feedstuffs. Though just like other feedstuffs the quality can vary depending on many different factors.
Having the right replacement heifers is important for the long-term profitability of any ranch. It is necessary to be able to rotate the breeding stock out to improve the overall genetic pool. Also, cows will get to a point where they will get to be too old to breed any more. When this happens you will need to have new stock to take their place.
There is one constant in the livestock industry, if you have animals then you will have to build fencing. Fencing is a barrier to both keeping your animals where you want them and keeping predators out.
Pinkeye is a very common as well as a highly contagious disease in cattle. Once it shows up if you do not take proper steps it can quickly affect all of your cattle.
Fertilizer costs have increased a lot over the last few decades, even more over the last year. An example of this is that nitrogen fertilizer has doubled in just the last 2 years. With the way things are going it is not looking it will change for the better any time soon.
